Will chickens eat my grass seed? Planting new grass.

[Warthog]

I have just seeded an area with 2 bags of Bermuda.

I have strung this area off so the dogs and cats don't get onto it, but the chickens, well that's another story, here's what I did.

They (40 of them) had become a bit of a nuisance, pooping on the porch scratching up the borders, as well as dust bathing in them. I also keep the doors open, and if I'm out and about they get into the house, well enougth said, you can imagine the rest.

So, enough is enough.

I have a couple of acres fenced off for the goats. I cut a hole in the wire mesh of the chicken run, made a tunnel with wire mesh to the fence line of the goat area, cut through the fence at that end, and so far it works. I get a couple of escapees every now and again, but we put them back in the chicken run and they start all over again.

It's so funny in the mornings watching them all walking single file down the tunnel. I actually got the idea off this site, someone else had made a tunnel from one area to another.

Don't know if this will work for you, but thought I would mention it.

Good luck with your grass seed.

 

[Backyard Hencam]

I have a couple of acres fenced off for the goats. I cut a hole in the wire mesh of the chicken run, made a tunnel with wire mesh to the fence line of the goat area, cut through the fence at that end, and so far it works. I get a couple of escapees every now and again, but we put them back in the chicken run and they start all over again.

Clever people on this site. A good way to have your grass and let chickens have theirs too!

 

[Hooligans7]

I've seen newly seeded ground covered with burlap (or hessian) cloth, staked into the ground. This practice is especially useful for growing grass in areas where soil erosion is a problem. The cloth prevents wild birds from eating it (chickens, too), and prevents the seed from washing away on sloped ground. The grass grows through the coarse weave of the burlap, which then decomposes in a year or so under the right conditions.

However as others have said, new grass is very tempting to chickens, so the 'burlapped' area still needs to be fenced off until the grass has established a strong root system — a year, usually, before chickens are allowed on it.

 

[cpait]

This is an older post but wanted to follow up . I have a temp fence around a small area of new grass. Maybe 6 weeks old. I have a backyard flock of 5. I just wonder.... can I risk it and take the fence down yet? It's a Contractor mix. I asked for a tough seed for this region (Virginia).

 

[Aztecsue1]

I was wondering if it would be better to lay down sod instead of grass seed, if you have Chickens

 

[Fluffy&Cutie]

i see no one has answered you yet, and i do not have an answer for you, either. but one thing i learned is if you write on an old thread such as this...you may not get an answer. if i were you, i would repost your question on a new thread. you can go to forums, find a thread like chicken behavior, click on that, then scroll down to the end...at the bottom, on the right hand side is a button Post New Thread... it is a blue button. clicl that and rewrite your question. super good luck.
(my chicken ate my grass, ate the seeds, and then ate the tiny new grass)

 

[aart]

I was wondering if it would be better to lay down sod instead of grass seed, if you have Chickens

I would not use sod, it is usually treated with several chemicals(pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers, etc).

Trying to grow grass where chickens have destroyed, and will be on it again, is folly, IMO.